Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and its various guns, ammunition, history, and trends. It was somewhat refreshing to get back into the switch of things for the start of 2022 by heading to SHOT 2022. As I expected, there was a decent handful of new firearms to gawk at and that includes rimfire junkies. Today we’ll be looking at some of the best rimfire guns from SHOT 2022. SHOT Show is absolutely massive and I wasn’t able to shoot or get my hands on all of these and I’m almost certain there are a handful of new rimfire guns I missed completely. If there are any other cool rimfires you guys saw from this year’s SHOT Show that isn’t on this list, feel free to drop a tip down in the comments below.

More SHOT Show 2022 Coverage @ TFB:

• [SHOT 2022] It’s Not a Shotgun! The RIA Semi-Auto 12 Gauge VRF14 “Firearm”
• [SHOT 2022] QUAD STACK AR-15 with 53 Round Capacity: Desert Tech Quattro 15
• SILENCER SATURDAY #212: 2022 SHOT Show Suppressors

The Rimfire Report: The Best Rimfire Guns From SHOT 2022

“Ounce” .22LR pistol

This one takes the top of the list for me because of its pure novelty. The “Ounce” .22LR pistol is certainly weird but what does it bring to the table? First off, the gun folds in half similar to the Full Conceal Glock. What this does is allow you to carry the pistol without the need for a holster as folding the pistol completely obscures the trigger.

The Rimfire Report: The Best Rimfire Guns From SHOT 2022

So does the “Ounce” weigh only an ounce? No, in fact, it weighs about 8-ounces loaded. Instead, the name Ounce comes from the old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The pistol features a top-mounted non-removable 10-round magazine. At the time of writing, the Ounce pistol is on the company’s website and listed at a price of $899.00 with a release date of “soon.” It wouldn’t be my first choice for a concealed carry pistol but it has to be better than nothing right? This is one I for sure want to get featured on The Rimfire Report. 

Photo: Nick C | The Rimfire Report: The Best Rimfire Guns from SHOT 2022

Winchester Xpert Bolt-Action Rifle

This was a bit of an unexpected release from the legendary Winchester company but a welcome one nonetheless. Following a similar pattern to other popular rimfire manufacturers, Winchester has decided to follow up the release of the Winchester Wildcat semi-auto rifle with the new Winchester Xpert bolt action rifle. The new rifle has the same cool magazine release mechanism as the Wildcat and also makes use of commonly available Ruger 10/22 magazines or the newer translucent wildcat magazines.

Absent for the release of the new Xpert was a threaded barrel, however, the rep at the booth did tell us that since the Wildcat already has threaded barrels available for it, SKUs for the Xpert with a threaded barrel option should be coming shortly. The rifle currently has an MSRP of  $319 and should be hitting shelves during Q3 of 2022.

The Franklin Armory F-17L

The Franklin Armory F-17 isn’t exactly new but the L variant is the world’s first gas piston rimfire to hit the market. The F-17 is chambered in 17 WSM and by extension is legal in most states including ban states. 17 WSM is an excellent varmint hunter cartridge and is capable of shooting extremely flat and fast. The F17L also includes a newly designed rail specifically for the F17L and its new rimfire gas piston system.

The F17L should arrive on shelves sometime during quarter 2 of 2022 and the MSRP is still to be determined according to Franklin Armory. I was able to shoot the F17L during SHOT 2022 Industry Day at the Range and the tiny little 17 WSM cartridge plays very well in an AR-style platform. I think it’ll make a huge difference to those who spend a lot of their time doing pest control.

The Wee1 Tactical JR15 Rifle

Probably my favorite rimfire rifle released during SHOT 2022, the WEE1 Tactical JR15 rifle is exactly what it looks and sounds like – a scaled-down AR-15. The JR15 features an M-LOK rail, full-length Picatinny upper rail, a 7.5″ barrel (with a welded tube extension). As opposed to other youth offerings, the WEE1 JR15 offers the user a near 1:1 manual of arms with a normal AR-15 including a functioning bolt release, 20% reduced-sized fire control group, last round bolt hold open magazines, and even a functioning charging handle.

Photo: Austin Rex | The Rimfire Report: The Best Rimfire Guns from SHOT 2022

Where the WEE1 JR15 changes things up a bit is in the function of safety. Since the JR15 is marketed towards youth and parents who want to train their children with a more appropriately sized rifle, the JR15 makes use of a right-hand-mounted safety knob that is difficult for children to use. The stiff safety knob must be pulled out and rotated in order for the rifle to fire and this more securely puts the safety function of the rifle in the hands of a (hopefully) more responsible adult. I’m not necessarily a huge fan of this feature as I’ve found young children to be more than capable of understanding the concept of safety, but I do see its merit for concerned parents who are introducing firearms to their children for the first time.

Photo: Austin Rex | The Rimfire Report: The Best Rimfire Guns from SHOT 2022

The WEE1 Tactical JR15 should start hitting shelves within the next three months and will have an MSRP of around $399 and come with a single-round magazine, however, 5-round, and 10-round magazines will also be available for purchase and will be specific to the JR15 rifle. Yet another rifle I’d like to have featured on The Rimfire Report for review.

Honorable Mentions

Rock Island Armory (RIA) also introduced their own new AR-15 style .22LR rifle with the TM22. The RIA TM22 will come with 2 10-round aluminum .22LR magazines but 15-round and 25-round factory RIA magazines will also be available for it. The barrel is also threaded 1/2×28 so the addition of a suppressor or muzzle device is also possible. The magazines will be somewhat expensive with the 10-round magazines starting in the neighborhood of $30 and the 25-round magazines hitting nearly $60 each. The rifle and magazines should be available starting the Summer of 2022.

While not firearms in their own right, both Desert Tech and Strike Industries brought cool new 10/22 chassis to the market and I think the Desert Tech bullpup stock has to be my favorite. The stock completely changes the look of your 10/22 and also adds additional magazine storage to the platform and turns your 10/22 into a sci-fi plinker. Meanwhile, the all-aluminum Strike Industries 10/22 chassis features a whole host of sling and aftermarket accessory attachment points and even comes complete with a folding stock with adjustable LOP and comb. If you need the extra rail space, the chassis features a second piece that can be attached to add an additional section of Picatinny rail as well as several M-LOK slots for bipods, lights, lasers or night vision devices.

The Rimfire Report: The Best Rimfire Guns from SHOT 2022

The Rimfire Report: The Best Rimfire Guns from SHOT 2022

Final THoughts

I was quite impressed with the rimfire offerings from SHOT 2022. I’m really looking forward to seeing at least 3 of these items but I’d really love to get my hands on all of them again to really put these rifles and pistols through their paces. What cool rimfire items did you guys see this year from SHOT 2022? Let us know down in the comments and as always, thanks for stopping by to read The Rimfire Report!